Black walnut tree named HPC-120

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of American black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) that is large compared to other black walnut trees, is a vigorous grower and appears resistant to many foliar diseases. The tree is also an excellent nut producer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of American blackwalnut tree (Juglans nigra L.).

In 1976, I planted a variety of seedlings that I obtained from theMissouri State Nursery in Licking along with some additional seedlings Ihad in a plantation in Cedar County, Miss. The seedlings I obtained fromthe Missouri State Nursery were approximately one year old and werelabeled as "super seedlings" or "nursery run" . As the trees developedand began to bear fruit, I recognized that the parent tree of thisinvention had improved characteristics. My interest and experience withAmerican black walnut trees led me to realize that this tree was aunique and distinct development.

REPRODUCTION

Subsequently in 1990, I asexually reproduced the tree of the presentinvention taking scions from the parent tree and grafting these on to anunpatented American black walnut tree stock in Cedar County, Miss. Theasexual reproductions ran true to the parent tree and to each other inall respects.

The botanical details of this new and distinct variety of American blackwalnut tree will now be described using data collected from the parenttree for over a significant period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a photograph showing the timber form of parent tree of thisinvention at age 20.

FIG. 2 is a photograph showing the nuts from the parent tree of thisinvention.

FIG. 3 is a bar graph of the walnut bearing characteristics of theparent tree of this invention with 762 other black walnut trees grown inthe same block/area.

FIG. 4 contains three electrophoresis gels resulting from isoelectricfocusing. The enzyme acid phosphatase was used to establish in enzymepattern for the parent tree of this invention and other trees.

FIG. 5 contains three electrophoresis gels resulting from isoelectricfocusing. The enzyme used was the malic enzyme.

FIG. 6 contains three electrophoresis gels resulting from isoelectricfocusing. The enzyme used was diaphorase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Tree: The tree is large when compared to other black walnut trees ofthis species. The tree is a vigorous grower, and is a very heavyproducer. Additionally, the tree produces a long bole. The tree isapproximately 62 feet high, has a diameter of 13.8 inches at breastheight (dbh), and a spread of approximately 38 feet. The tree is anearly bearer but not annually. However, the annual bearingcharacteristic may be masked by site and environmental conditions duringflowering.

Trunk: The trunk of the tree is like that of other black walnut treesfor this species. However, the bark tends to be less deeply grooved, notas thick and has thinner ridges. The old bark is gray to light brown incolor and has a rough texture that tends to be less thick than average.In contrast, the new bark is light brown in color, has a smooth textureand has a moderate to thin thickness.

Branches: The form of the branches is the same as other black walnuttrees of this species. The lateral branches tend to be smaller indiameter and at more of a right angle to the trunk than lateral brancheson other black walnut trees of this species. Additionally, the brancheshave a relatively smooth texture.

Stems: The stems are like the stems of other black walnut trees of thisspecies. The stems have hair and are light brown in color.

Leaves: The tree has an abundant quantity of leaves which are arrangedin a pinnately compound fashion. The leaves are approximately 35 to 40cm in length and approximately 13 to 16 cm in width. There areapproximately 14-16 dark green leaflets per leaf which are approximately6 to 10 cm in length and 2.0 to 3.0 cm in width. Furthermore, theleaflets are relatively smooth on top with a light pubescence on thebottom. While the leaflets are narrow lanceolate in shape, they arepointed at the apices. The base of the leaflet varies from rounded toheart shaped to pointed in shape. The leaflets have a smooth texturewith a serrated margin and venation typical of that found in blackwalnut trees of this species. The leaflets change colors from green toyellow in the fall.

Leafing date: The bud breaks from April 20-April 28.

Inflorescence: The tree is precocious. Pistillate and staminate flowersare usually produced early, within 8 to 10 years. One to threepistillate flowers are present per bearing site on the flowering tip.The female flower is not inconspicuous and has basically the sameappearance as other individuals of the species, as receptivity advances,the flower color changes from light green to rose. The first femalebloom is between May 1-May 7. The peak female bloom is near May 10. Thelast female bloom is by May 16. The first male bloom is between April24-April 30. The peak male bloom is between May 6 to May 11. The lastmale bloom is May 14-May 20. The first pollen is shed between May 1-May3. Generally, the pollen is shed for approximately 12 days. The lastpollen shed is May 14-May 20. The length of the female flower is3/8-5/8inch and the length of the male flower 3-4 inches. The male andfemale flowers are not unlike the typical black walnut flower for thisspecies. The female flower turns from light green to rose as receptivityadvances.

Husk: The husk is somewhat pear shaped and pendulous, has no sutures andis thick. The outer surface of the nut is somewhat rough. Prior toharvest, the husk is light green to dark green in color. At harvest, thehusk may be dark green. Additonally, the husk does not open freely anddoes not have a splitting tendency.

Nut: The nut is large in size and has an average length of 17/16 inchesand an average width of approximately 19/16 inches from cheek to cheekand 15/16 inches from suture to suture. The average weight of the nut is21.4 grams and the number of nuts per ounce is 0.75. In addition tobeing somewhat rectangular to pear shaped, the nut is light brown incolor and has an inner shell and outer shell. The outer shell isrelatively thick and has a corrugated texture. The percentage of kernalto nut is 19.6%.

FIG. 3 depicts all of the trees growing in the block/area where theparent tree is growing. The 763 black walnut trees were originallyplanted in 1976 at Hammons Sho-Neff Plantation in Stockton, Miss. inwell-drained, fertile river-bottom soil and spaced 10'×40' apart fromone another. The FIG. 3 illustrates the huge variation in nut bearingcapabilities of the species. The parent tree of this invention isrepresented by the short vertical bar on the far right side of the graphand produces an average of 495 nuts per year (the nuts were harvestedfrom 1986-1990).

Kernel: The kernel is larger than average. The lobe has an averagelength between 3/4-7/8 inches, an average width between 1/2-5/8 inchesand an average thickness of 3/16-1/4 inches. The kernel is brown incolor and has a smooth to somewhat corrugated texture. Additionally, theshape of the kernal is typical of that for black walnut trees of thesespecies. The average weight of a kernel in a nut is 4.2 grams.

Harvest: The nuts are generally ready for harvest between October 5 toOctober 20. No special conditions are needed for harvesting. The nutsare simply picked up by hand as they mature and fall to the groundnaturally. Once harvested, the nuts are counted and the husk removed.The nuts are then weighed and then air dried.

Disease resistance: Appears to be resistant to most foliar diseases.

Growing conditions: Excellent, well-drained, fertile, river bottom soil.Huntington soil series.

Isoelectric focusing: Isoelectric focusing was conducted on the parenttree of this invention as well as the parent tree of HPC-148 (U.S. Ser.No. 08/617,047) and STW-13 (U.S. Ser. No. 08/617,625) by Isolab, Inc.,Akron, Ohio, to develop an enzyme profile for these trees. The procedureused is described below.

Sample preparation.--Ten individual leaves from the parent tree washomogenized with an enzyme extraction solution. The samples were allowedto incubate at 4°-8° C. overnight. The samples were then centrifuged andthe resulting supernant was ready for electrophoresis in a pH gradient.

Isoelectric focusing.--The supernant was run through a broad-ranged (pH3-10) HyPure Gel (Isolab, Inc., Akron, Ohio). After protein separation,isozyme staining was performed for selected proteins. The stains usedwere selective for the following 8 enzymes: acid phosphatase, malicenzyme, diaphorase, esterase, alcohol dehydrogenase, isocitricdehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and peroxidase. These enzymes wereselected because they are useful for showing the differences betweenvarieties. Acid phosphatase, malic enzyme and diaphorase were chosen forfurther examination because these three enzymes gave the most intensity.

Results.--As shown in FIG. 4, the parent tree of this invention and theparent tree of HPC-148 gave the same pattern for the acid phosphatase.The parent tree of STW-13 gave a different pattern. The parent tree ofthis invention is shown in B, HPC-148 is shown in A, STW-13 is shown inC. Each lane represents an individual leaf sample.

As shown in FIG. 5, the parent tree of HPC-148 and the parent tree ofSTW-13 gave single pattern when tested with the malic enzyme. The parenttree of this invention gave a double pattern. The parent tree of thisinvention is shown in B, HPC-148 is shown in A and STW-13 is shown in C.

As shown in FIG. 6, all of the trees gave the same exact enzyme patternwith for the diaphorase. The parent tree of this invention is shown inB, HPC-148 is shown in A and STW-13 is shown in C.

Therefore, these three trees can be differentiated using the acidphosphatase and the malic enzyme patterns.

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct variety of black walnut tree hereindescribed and illustrated and identified by the characteristicsenumerated above.